


Post season 1 finale

by Nightwrite20



Category: Sweet Magnolias (TV)
Genre: Brothers, Canon Compliant, Hospitals, Mother-Son Relationship, Post-Finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:07:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26066974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightwrite20/pseuds/Nightwrite20
Summary: Maddie and Bill rush to the hospital with more questions than answers. Who was in the car with Kyle? Where are Annie and Tyler? Is everyone going to be ok?
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	Post season 1 finale

**Author's Note:**

> After I posted this, I rewatched the season finale and realized there were some discrepancies, so I edited it to make it more canon compliant. 
> 
> Also, I am terrible at titles. Sorry.

Ten minutes later, Maddie and Bill are on their way to the children’s hospital in Charleston, leaving Dana Sue and Helen in Serenity to try to track down Annie and Tyler. It’s about a 45 minute drive to the hospital; as soon as they get on the road, Bill starts calling colleagues at MUSC. Since he did his residency at that hospital and still refers patients there, he knows a lot of the doctors and is determined to get Kyle the best care possible.

“I’m going to see if I can find out who is on call for neuro,” he says. “If it’s not Dr. Blakely, I’m going to see if I can get her here. She is the best pediatric neurosurgeon in the state.”

“Neurosurgeon?” Maddie gasps.

“At the very least he has a concussion,” Bills says, and then starts rattling off some medical-ese that Maddie doesn’t quite follow. For the first time in a long time, she is grateful for Bill. There are some benefits of having a husband - _ex-husband_ , she mentally corrects herself - who is a pediatrician.

It feels strange to be in the car with Bill. When the call came in about the accident, Bill’s car had been parked behind Maddie’s in her driveway, so they had both jumped in Bill’s car without even discussing it, both focused on getting to their son as quickly as possible. Of course at the time, they thought they were rushing to Tyler. When they left the scene of the accident, Bill had offered to take Maddie to get her car, but she didn’t want to waste a single second in getting to the hospital.

Now, as she watches the highway flash by and desperately prays for both of her sons, Maddie begins to wonder if she should have driven separately. She would like to call Cal, but can’t quite bring herself to do it with Bill in the car, especially since he is on the phone with doctor friends on Charleston who might be able to help Kyle.

She keeps glancing at her phone, hoping Tyler will call, or Dana Sue or Helen will. Finally they arrive at the hospital, and Bill drops Maddie off at the door to the emergency room so he can go park the car.

As Maddie walks into the hospital, her phone buzzes. She glances down and sees the words she has been longing to see for the past hour.

_Tyler calling._

_Thank God_ , she thinks. Then she realizes it could be someone else calling from Tyler’s phone. She answers quickly, and is flooded with relief to hear his voice.

“Mom?”

 _Thank God. It’s him. He wasn’t in the car. He’s ok._ Her eyes fill with tears and she has to catch her breath before she can speak.

“Tyler, you’re ok?”

“Yes, mom, I’m so sorry. I don’t know - “ his voice breaks as he chokes back a sob.

“Where are you?”

“I’m with Aunt Helen on the way to the hospital.”

“Ok.“

“Is Kyle ok?”

“We don’t know yet. We just got to the ER.”

“Mom, I’m so sorry.”

“Tyler, who else was in the car?”

“Annie.”

_Oh God, no._

“Does Dana Sue know?” Before Tyler can answer, she hears Helen’s voice in the background and then in her ear.

“Dana Sue and Ronnie are on the way to the hospital too,” Helen tells her. “Right after y’all left, Annie woke up and was able to tell them who she was. They got to talk to her before they left. Looks like she is going to be ok, but needs to be checked out.”

“Ok,” Maddie tries to breathe. “Thank you Helen.”

“Tyler is fine. I’ve got him. We will come find you when we get there. Just keep breathing.” Maddie nods through her tears, even though she knows Helen can’t see her.

45 minutes later, Maddie sees Helen and Tyler come into the ER waiting room. Without saying a word, she grabs her oldest son and squeezes him as tightly as she can. When she finally lets him go, she looks at him and sees his red eyes and tear-stained cheeks. He looks so much younger than 17.

“You’re ok?” She asks, and he nods.

“How’s Kyle?”

“I don’t know,” she says. “Your dad says it will probably be a long wait.”

“Where is dad?” 

“He‘s trying to get in touch with every doctor he knows at MUSC to make sure Kyle has the best care possible.”

Tyler nods and practically falls into a chair next to his mom.

“Tyler, what happened?” She asks. His eyes fill with tears.

“I’m sorry, mom.” He manages in a soft voice. “I know it’s all my fault.” She puts his arm around his shoulder and squeezes. She doesn’t know how things could have possibly ended up this way, but she knows Tyler would never intentionally do anything that would endanger his brother or Annie. She looks at Helen, wondering if she knows the story. Helen reads her mind and answers the unasked question.

“Tyler told me in the car,” Helen says, and then asks Tyler, “do you want me to tell your mom?”

“No,” he says, “I need to.”

“Hey,” Maddie cups Tyler’s chin in her hand. “I love you. No matter what. Ok?” He nods through his tears, then takes a deep breath and tells her the story.

“We went to Jackson’s after the prom, and Kyle was there with Nellie. Jackson tried to start something with me, as usual, and Kyle tried to stand up for me. I told him to stay out of it, and then he yelled that I’m always ignoring him, and he ran out. I followed him and found him in the backyard. He was upset but didn’t want to talk. I asked him if he wanted me to take him home and he said yes. We went to get in the car, and Annie asked if she could come too.” Tyler stopped and looked at his mom before going on, “I know I wasn’t supposed to drive other people, but she was worried about Kyle and...”

Maddie nodded. “Just tell me what happened.”

“I gave Kyle my keys so he and Annie could get in the car, and I went to tell Cece what I was doing. I was just going to take Kyle home and then come back and get her, but she was really mad, and said I was abandoning her on prom night. I was trying to explain and then I heard the engine start and my car drove off. I didn’t even know which one of them was driving. I never would have given him the keys if I thought-“

“Tyler,” Maddie says gently, “this wasn’t your fault.”

“Yes it was. The last thing you said to me was no one drives but me, and -“ he wipes his eyes, “I let this happen.” Maddie wraps her arms around him. After a moment, she sits back and puts a hand on each of his shoulders, holding him so he is facing her.

“Actually, no,” she says. “That wasn’t the last thing I said to you. The last thing I said to you was that I love you. Remember?” Tyler nods.

“I love you,” she repeats firmly. “This was not your fault. It was an accident. Do you understand?” He shakes his head, falling back in his seat, so that Maddie’s hands fall from his shoulders.

“But it wouldn’t have happened if I-“

“Tyler,” Maddie says firmly, “do _not_ put this on yourself. That isn’t going to help Kyle and it isn’t going to help you.”

He knows better than to argue, so he nods, but he also knows he won’t be able to let go of the guilt, especially if Kyle isn’t ok.

“You told me the truth, right?” Maddie asks him. “About what happened?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“All right. Then I need you to believe me when I tell you this was not your fault. Can you do that?”

He isn’t sure if he can, but his mom is using the voice she uses when there is only one acceptable answer.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Ok. I love you.” She pats his knee and he squeezes her hand.

“I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> I know it still ends not knowing if Kyle is ok. I might add to this...


End file.
